Mike's Pens By Design

Americana Wood Twist Pen - Bocote and 24k Gold

Americana style pens, as my supplier puts it so well, "reflect the classic lines and distinctive style of pens made during America's golden age. Black accents on the cap and writing tip offer an elegant contrast. The smooth twist mechanism features a premium Swiss-made Parker style ballpoint refill with carbide writing tip for consistent ink flow."

They're available in 24-k gold as shown, or for added durability, 10-k gold, gold titanium, or rhodium. The pen shown is from Bocote, with a creamy brown color and wavy black stripes, making for striking contrast. Bocote is from a small tree native to Central and South America, sometimes called Mexican Rosewood. Because of its striking color and grain, it's popular for accents and turnings.

Other woods are also available. Price starts at $30 for 24-k gold finish.By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Segmented Wood Americana Roller Ball Pen and Letter Opener Set

This hand-turned segmented Americana roller-ball pen and letter opener desk set is made from classic Americana style components. 10-K gold plated for durability and class, and with a checkered, diagonally-cut segmented pattern that makes the set one-of-a-kind. This set is made from padauk (the red wood) and maple (tan), with blackwood diagonal pieces. Most any of the other woods I show on my website could also be used.

The technique involved in assembling the wood pieces is involved, which raises the cost, and the uniqueness, of the piece over solid-piece pens. Order this set or a similar set for $115.00. Individually, this style of pen is $65.00, letter opener $60.00.
By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Segmented European Pen and Letter Opener Maple and Padauk

This hand-turned segmented european pen and letter opener desk set is made from classic European style components. 10-K gold plated for durability and class, and with a curvy segmented pattern that makes the set one-of-a-kind. This set is made from padauk (the red wood) and maple (tan). Most any of the other woods I show on my website could also be used.

The technique involved in assembling the wood pieces is involved, which raises the cost, and the uniqueness, of the piece over solid-piece pens. Order this set or a similar set for $110.00. Individually, this style of pen or letter opener is available for $60.00.By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Rhodium and Ebony Americana Desk Set

This hand-turned wood letter opener and roller-ball pen desk set is made from classic Americana style components. Rhodium plated for durability and class, and with beautiful Nigerian Ebony, it makes quite an impression.

Nigerian Ebony, or Gaboon Ebony, is a rather small tree that reaches heights no taller than 60'

and no larger than 2' diameter. The heartwood is jet black, very hard, and very dense. It's an exotic wood probably most known for its use as fingerboards and keys for various musical instruments. It's also great for pens, bottle stoppers, knife handles and jewelry boxes. Ebony is the Greek word for "fruit of the gods". Historically drinking goblets were made from its wood, as they believed it was an antidote for poison, and its use would ward off their enemy's evil intent.

Rhodium has been used for honors, or to symbolize wealth, when more commonly used metals such as silver, gold, or platinum are deemed insufficient. In 1979 the Guinness Book of World Records gave Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history's all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist. Guinness has also noted items such as the world's "Most Expensive Pen" or "Most Expensive Board Game" as containing rhodium.

The supply of Rhodium pen and letter opener parts is limited, so inquire via email if they're available. $100.00 for the set.

Spiral Segmented Pen - Blackwood and Yellowheart Slimline

I've recently started trying my hand at segmented wood pens. Each is a one-of-a kind creation, and striking to hold. This pen is made from Pao Amarello, or yellowheart, and African blackwood, using Artisan Slimline parts that are plated with black chrome. The twist mechanism is smooth, the finish is shiny, and I really like how the colors go together - one of my favorite pens to date.

Price for this pen, or similar segmented Slimline: $50.00
By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Wood Pen - Purpleheart and Chrome, Custom Design

This purpleheart wood pen was a bit of an experiment for me. I started with chrome slimline parts, and then I did away with the center band so that I wasn't limited to a certain diameter in the middle of the pen. I like the resulting design - not as slim as the slimline pens I'm used to seeing, and a little shorter - this keeps the small convenient planner-sized pen but gives it a more masculine look.

Order this pen, or one like it, for $25.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Bloodwood Pen with Custom Clip

This wood pen was custom designed for a special gift for a friend's husband. It shows one of the many possibilities if you're looking for a one-of-a-kind gift. Other shapes and clips and choices of wood are available - see below or visit my "Design Your Pen" page to walk through your choices. The double-concave shape is surprisingly comfortable to hold, and makes the pen stand out in a crowd.

Bloodwood comes in deep reds, from light like this to dark like other bloodwood pens I've made. It's very hard and dense, my personal favorite for pens. Bloodwood is actually a name for several types of reddish wood. It is hard and tough, with no smell at all, unless it's smoking hot, in which case it smells like coconut and sweet incense. Shavings are a striking bright red color, and it finishes nicely. Hard and strong, it's supposed to age to a deep brown color, but the finish will slow that down.

price: $42.50By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Beaded Slimline Pen - Macassar Ebony

Made from premium Artisan brand Beaded Slimline parts, and Macassar Ebony, this hand-turned wood pen looks and feels elegant and classy.

The Macassar Ebony tree grows to heights of 70- feet. Heartwood is dark brown to black, streaked throughout with darker and paler bands, stripes, and splotches. Sawing can be difficult due to the hardness of the wood. Finishes well with high luster.

Price for this pen: $35.00. Order a matching pencil for a Pen and Pencil Set.
By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Beaded Slimline Pen - Burmese Rosewood

Made from Burmese Rosewood and Beaded Artisan Slimline parts with 10-k gold finish, this twist pen turned out beautifully with a deep shiny luster and attractive grain. The shape of this pen is comfortable to hold, and attractively symmetric.

Burmese Rosewood is a medium sized tree that usually grows no larger than 20" diameter. Heartwood is light red or reddish brown with distinctly darker grain lines in most trees, yellowish with darker lines in others. The color darkens with exposure to sunlight. Turns well and produces a high and lasting polish.

Price for this pen: $35.00. Order a matching pencil for a Pen and Pencil Set.

By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Beaded Slimline Pen - Ambrosia Maple

Ambrosia Maple is one of the most beautiful woods out there, with the beetle holes, the black stains they introduce, and the resluting flecks throughought the otherwise unstained portions of the wood. The wood I use for these pens is specially selected, diagonally cut to include the most contrast, and stabilized with resin for a durable, stable, crack-free pen. Put together with the beaded slimline parts, and cut in this comfortable, concave shape, this pen says Classy and Cultured when you pull it out for use.

The beaded pen kit is 10-k gold plated for durability. Order yours for $40.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Slimline Pen and Pencil Set - Hand Turned Dyed Box Elder Burl

This is an Artisan brand slimline pen and pencil set with custom clips in the shape of a treble clef. It is hand-turned from stabilized dyed box elder burl, and uses durable 10-k gold components. The Box Elder tree is a variety of maple tree, also known as Boxelder Maple and Maple Ash. A small, fast-growing, and short-lived tree, it has generally weak wood with little use commercially, except for the burls, which have beautiful coloring and grain patterns. This pencil is from a dyed box elder burl where they impregnate it with a colored dye. In addition to green, the dyed box elder burls are available in yellow, red, black, blue, purple, brown, and magenta.

The custom clips make these totally personal and individual, and therefore great gifts. Other shapes available are baseball, golf, tennis, football, basketball, soccer, rifle, bowling, fishing, medical, hockey, cross, or jonah (fish). This set was actually made by my son, Tyler, with my help for the finishing touches.By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Slimline Pen - Hand Turned Dyed Box Elder Burl

This is an Artisan brand slimline pen with a custom clip in the shape of a treble clef. It is hand-turned from stabilized dyed box elder burl, and uses durable 10-k gold components. The Box Elder tree is a variety of maple tree, also known as Boxelder Maple and Maple Ash. A small, fast-growing, and short-lived tree, it has generally weak wood with little use commercially, except for the burls, which have beautiful coloring and grain patterns. This pen is from a dyed box elder burl where they impregnate it with a colored dye. In addition to green, the dyed box elder burls are available in yellow, red, black, blue, purple, brown, and magenta.

The custom clips make these totally personal and individual, and therefore great gifts. Other shapes available are baseball, golf, tennis, football, basketball, soccer, rifle, bowling, fishing, medical, hockey, cross, or jonah (fish). This pencil was actually made by my son, Tyler, with my help for the finishing touches.

Order with a matching pencil for a wood pen and pencil set.
By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms

Wood Bullet Pen - .50 Caliber Browning Machine Gun

My son's teacher wanted a special gift for her husband for Valentine's day. He works on machine guns at the nearby military base, and she thought, "Those big bullets are about the size of a pen" and then she thought of me. Above you see the finished result - a dimensionally correct .50 caliber bullet-shaped pen made from solid hardwoods. I used Nigerian ebony for the slug and black walnut for the casing, finished with Mylands friction polish. The twist mechanism is a quality Artisan brand transmission for smooth, quality action, and it uses a cross-type refill.

Here's the pen next to the bullet "dud" that I was given to model it from.

Here's the really fun part: because the school has a zero-tolerance policy, she had to be really careful how she ordered/talked about this pen and can't ever bring it to school :)

Cocobolo European Pen and Pencil Set

This European Pen and Pencil Set is made from 10k gold-plated components and Cocobolo. The pencil uses 0.7mm lead, and features a smooth twist mechanism to advance the lead.

Cocobolo is a medium sized Central American tree growing up to 2' diameter and 90' tall. The heartwood is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood, while the sapwood is a creamy yellow, contrasting sharply with the heartwood. Its fine texture and excellent color make Cocobolo one of the most popular exotic woods. Grows along Pacific seaboard of Mexico and Central America. Considered one of the most important woods in cutlery business for knife handles (can be soaked in soapy water with minimal ill effects). Also used for tool handles, brush backs, bowling balls, chess pieces, carving, jewelry boxes, canes, utensils, buttons, musical and scientific instruments, especially guitars and basses, but some woodwind instruments such as clarinets and oboes have been successfully made using cocobolo instead of the more usual African blackwood. It is also used in making luxury pens, and decorative veneer and inlay.

Price to order: $100.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

European Wood Pencil - Cocobolo and 10k Gold

This Wood European Mechanical Pencil uses 0.7mm lead, and features a smooth twist mechanism to advance the lead. It is made from quality 10k gold-plated Artisan parts and Cocobolo.

Cocobolo is a medium sized Central American tree growing up to 2' diameter and 90' tall. The heartwood is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood, while the sapwood is a creamy yellow, contrasting sharply with the heartwood. Its fine texture and excellent color make Cocobolo one of the most popular exotic woods. Grows along Pacific seaboard of Mexico and Central America. Considered one of the most important woods in cutlery business for knife handles (can be soaked in soapy water with minimal ill effects). Also used for tool handles, brush backs, bowling balls, chess pieces, carving, jewelry boxes, canes, utensils, buttons, musical and scientific instruments, especially guitars and basses, but some woodwind instruments such as clarinets and oboes have been successfully made using cocobolo instead of the more usual African blackwood. It is also used in making luxury pens, and decorative veneer and inlay.

Price to order: $55.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

European Wood Pen - Cocobolo and 10k Gold

This Wood European Twist Pen is made from quality 10k gold-plated Artisan parts and Cocobolo. Cocobolo is a medium sized Central American tree growing up to 2' diameter and 90' tall. The heartwood is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood, while the sapwood is a creamy yellow, contrasting sharply with the heartwood. Its fine texture and excellent color make Cocobolo one of the most popular exotic woods. Grows along Pacific seaboard of Mexico and Central America. Considered one of the most important woods in cutlery business for knife handles (can be soaked in soapy water with minimal ill effects). Also used for tool handles, brush backs, bowling balls, chess pieces, carving, jewelry boxes, canes, utensils, buttons, musical and scientific instruments, especially guitars and basses, but some woodwind instruments such as clarinets and oboes have been successfully made using cocobolo instead of the more usual African blackwood. It is also used in making luxury pens, and decorative veneer and inlay.

Price to order: $45.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

Kingwood and Gold European Pen with Custom Clip

This European wood twist pen was made by my 8-year-old son, with help from me, of course, with the wood and clip and style of his choosing. To design your own, follow the design-your-pen program on my page. This was made to reflect his love of music, especially playing the piano, and with one of the most striking woods out there.

Kingwood, also called Violetwood or Violete, is from a slender low tree native to Brazil. It is called kingwood because in the 18th and 19th century it was a favorite wood of French kings for their furniture. It is fairly rare, and its fine texture and stability makes it a prized wood for inlay work, wood turning, and fancy accessories.

The European pen is classy and stylish, and can be ordered with a large variety of clips (view at my supplier's page). Price to order: $50.00
By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

Black and White Ebony and Chrome Slimline Pen and Pencil Set

This hand-turned wood pen and pencil set is made from black and white ebony, with quality Artisan slimline components, chrome-plated for style and durability. Black and white ebony is one of the most rare woods in the ebony family. Found primarily in Burma, and Laos, it is prized for its dramatic grain coloring and is considered a rare find. It features striking contrast between a creamy background and thick, dark chocolate bands. This wood has silky-fine texture with mostly straight grain and is very hard. It turns nicely and takes a fabulous polish.

The chrome finish matches nicely with the ebony, and is one of the more durable metal finishes available for custom pens and pencils. Price for this pen and pencil set: $65.00
By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

Black and White Ebony and Chrome Slimline Pencil

This hand-turned wood pencil is made from black and white ebony, with quality Artisan slimline components, chrome-plated for style and durability. Black and white ebony is one of the most rare woods in the ebony family. Found primarily in Burma, and Laos, it is prized for its dramatic grain coloring and is considered a rare find. It features striking contrast between a creamy background and thick, dark chocolate bands. This wood has silky-fine texture with mostly straight grain and is very hard. It turns nicely and takes a fabulous polish.

The chrome finish matches nicely with the ebony, and is one of the more durable metal finishes available for custom pens and pencils. Price for this pencil: $35.00

Black and White Ebony and Chrome Slimline Twist Pen

This hand-turned wood pen is made from black and white ebony, with quality Artisan slimline components, chrome-plated for style and durability. Black and white ebony is one of the most rare woods in the ebony family. Found primarily in Burma, and Laos, it is prized for its dramatic grain coloring and is considered a rare find. It features striking contrast between a creamy background and thick, dark chocolate bands. This wood has silky-fine texture with mostly straight grain and is very hard. It turns nicely and takes a fabulous polish.

The chrome finish matches nicely with the ebony, and is one of the more durable metal finishes available for custom pens. Price for this pen: $30.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

Tambootie and Rhodium Slimline Wood Twist Pen

This slimline wood pen is hand-turned from Tambootie wood and Rhodium-plated Artisan brand parts.

Tambootie (or tambuti) is a small African tree with an average height of 30' and a fluted and often hollow trunk. Heartwood is rich brown with distinctive dark brown to almost black veins. The wood is oily to touch, with a pale to bright yellow sapwood. The grain is straight to slightly irregular, with a fine even texture: reddish-brown with darker streaks, a satin-like lustre and extremely fragrant sweet, spicy smell. The oily timber exudes a white, poisonous latex when freshly cut, and campfires that burn tambuti fuel give off noxious fumes contaminating meat or other food grilled on the flames or coals. The latex is used as a fish poison, and applied to arrow-tips.Rhodium is a hard silvery white and durable metal that has a high reflectance. The primary use of this element in automobiles as a catalytic converter. Plated rhodium, is extremely hard and is used for optical instruments. This metal also finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is also used as a filter in mammography systems because of the characteristic x-rays it produces. It is used in high quality pen surfaces due to its high-resistance characteristics. As of October 2007, rhodium cost approximately eight times more than gold, and 450 times more than silver.

Rhodium has been used for honors, or to symbolize wealth, when more commonly used metals such as silver, gold, or platinum are deemed insufficient. In 1979 the Guinness Book of World Records gave Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history's all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist. Guinness has also noted items such as the world's "Most Expensive Pen" or "Most Expensive Board Game" as containing rhodium.

Price for this pen: $35.00

Padauk European Wood Pen and Pencil Set - 10k Gold

This European Wood Pen and Pencil Set is made from quality 10k gold-plated Artisan parts and Padauk. Padauk is a large tree reaching diameters as large as 45". Heights of 130' are not uncommon. Heartwood varies from yellow to brick red, but most commonly seen in a dark red-orange. An excellent turning wood that takes a very good polish. Incidentally, some Padauk's are also used for an herbal medicine for treating skin parasites or fungal infection. No guarantees as to the efficacy of using this pen or pencil for such things though...

The shape of this set, convex tip and cap, gives it an elegant look that is comfortable to grip and write with. The pen uses a cross-style refill. The pencil uses 7mm lead and uses a smooth twisting action to advance the lead. Price for this set: $80.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

European Wood Pen - Padauk and 10k Gold

This Wood European Twist Pen is made from quality 10k gold-plated Artisan parts and Padauk. Padauk is a large tree reaching diameters as large as 45". Heights of 130' are not uncommon. Heartwood varies from yellow to brick red, but most commonly seen in a dark red-orange. An excellent turning wood that takes a very good polish. Incidentally, some Padauk's are also used for an herbal medicine for treating skin parasites or fungal infection. No guarantees as to the efficacy of using this pen for such things though...

The shape of this pen, convex tip and cap, gives it an elegant look that is comfortable to grip and write with. The penuses a cross-style refill. Price for this pen: $35.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

European Wood Pencil - Padauk and 10k Gold

This Wood European Mechanical Pencil is made from quality 10k gold-plated Artisan parts and Padauk. Padauk is a large tree reaching diameters as large as 45". Heights of 130' are not uncommon. Heartwood varies from yellow to brick red, but most commonly seen in a dark red-orange. An excellent turning wood that takes a very good polish. Incidentally, some Padauk's are also used for an herbal medicine for treating skin parasites or fungal infection. No guarantees as to the efficacy of using this pencil for such things though...

The shape of this pencil, convex tip and cap, gives it an elegant look that is comfortable to grip and write with. The pencil uses 7mm lead and uses a smooth twisting action to advance the lead.

Price for this pencil: $45.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.

Putumuju Wood Pen and Pencil Set - 24k Gold Artisan Slimline

This wood pen and pencil set is made from Putumuju, with 24k gold-plated Artisan Slimline parts. Putumuju is a very beautiful timber with extremely nice figure. The colors are a cross between Piquia Amarello and English Yew with a wild curly grain. Excellent to turn and found in Brazil. This wood polishes extremely well.

The pen uses a cross-style refill. The pencil uses 5mm lead. The concave profile gives it unique balance and comfort. Price: $55.00By clicking on "Order Now," buyer agrees to these terms.